Work
is underway in preparing for the inaugural rocket blastoff from the New Mexico
spaceport grounds.

Concrete
is being poured and fabrication of a pad and associated infrastructure is being
put into place--essentially bringing the spaceport to life.

Meantime,
the UP Aerospace SpaceLoft XL is being readied for its suborbital mission from
the southeast section of the New Mexico spaceport, designated for vertically
launched rockets.

"A
major milestone has been reached in the spaceport's
construction," said Jerry Larson, president of Connecticut-based UP
Aerospace. The center section of the launch pad has been poured which will
anchor a multi-ton rocket launcher. The remainder of the launch pad will
be poured by the end of this month, Larson told SPACE.com.

A
hydraulically-controlled rocket launch rail, weighing 7 tons (over 7,000
kilograms) and standing 56 feet (17 meters) tall, has been transported to New Mexico. "Once in place,
it will be visible for miles around," Larson said.

Range land

Engineering,
construction, and placement of on-site launch facilities, Larson added,
includes a Launch Control Center building, the Payload Assembly and Integration
building, the mobile Vehicle
Assembly Building--which rolls on top of the concrete launch pad--and a
high-tech Doppler "SODAR" (Sonic Detection and Ranging) Weather Station.

The
New Mexico spaceport site is
approximately 27 square miles of open, generally level range land 45 miles
north of Las
Cruces
and 30 miles east of Truth or Consequences. This location was favored for its
low population density, uncongested airspace, and high elevation.

New
Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans, also Chairman of the New
Mexico Spaceport Authority, said last month that the UP Aerospace launch from
the spaceport property was targeted for mid-May.

University payloads

When
the SpaceLoft
XL climbs into the sky, it will be packed with a set of creative payloads,
said Eric Knight, chief executive officer for UP Aerospace.

New
Mexico
State University is testing a
vehicle attitude sensor that will be used in the design of a "nanosat"
satellite, Knight told SPACE.com. Students at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Colorado
Space Grant Consortium have developed a payload to measure and record the
microwave radiation levels and cosmic rays during the suborbital flight.

And
students at Brown University in Rhode Island, in conjunction
with engineers at AeroAstro, Inc., have developed a research package that
includes a prototype star tracker and data logger. Also on board the rocket is
a Central Connecticut State University research package
that includes a variety of thermocouples to analyze and record the
characteristics of the space environment.

Then
there's the University of Hartford testing of a Vapor
Phase Catalytic Ammonia Removal (VPCAR) system. That technology represents the
next generation in water recovery for human spaceflight missions, Knight noted.

Entrepreneurial packages

In
addition, more than 40 experiments from high school students from across America are to be flown.

To
open the space-access door to students at this level, Knight said that UP
Aerospace has partnered with the Connecticut Center for Advanced
Technology (CCAT) and the National Aerospace Leadership Initiative (NALI).
These organizations have established "LaunchQuest", a program that lets
youngsters conduct their own space-flight research.

On
the commercial side, a number of firms from the U.S. and Europe are on the flight.
But due to confidentially agreements, Knight can't offer too much detail on
these entrepreneurial payloads.

From launch to landing

The
SpaceLoft
XL is a single-stage, solid-propellant rocket.

Blasting
off from its New
Mexico
spaceport pad, the rocket will accelerate to five times the speed of
sound--nearly 3,400 miles per hour--in just 13.5 seconds, Larson said. It will
reach the international definition of space, 62 miles or 100 kilometers, in
just a minute-and-a-half and achieve a flight apogee of about 70 miles (113
kilometers) shortly thereafter, he said.

The mission includes support from White Sands Missile Range, located just to
the east of the spaceport. The SpaceLoft XL rocket includes a transponder that
will be tracked by the radars at White Sands providing the highest quality data
possible for use in obtaining a spaceport license from the Federal Aviation
Administration, Larson explained.

As
the rocket arcs over and begins its return from space, it will separate into
two sections: an upper nosecone/payload section and a lower rocket booster
section.

Both
rocket components are to be recovered by parachutes approximately 33 miles (53
kilometers) away from takeoff, touching down on the White Sands Missile Range. The entire flight
from launch to landing will take about 15 minutes.

Work ahead before thumb's up

The
goal is for launch site buildings to be in put in place mid-April, Larson said.

"We'll
then begin our site activation and vehicle pathfinder activities at the
spaceport. Computers will be brought in. Cables run. Communication systems,
both wired and wireless, will be set up," Larson stated. "There's a lot of work
to do before a space launch can be conducted."

Regarding the launch date, it's still a few months away, Larson continued.
Testing of the entire launch facility and the rocket's systems must be done before
UP Aerospace gives the thumb's up for the mission, he said.

"We
want to make sure the launch and recovery are absolutely flawless," Larson
said.